Plea Agreement Summary

Plea Agreement Summary

Produces a structured quick-reference summary of a criminal plea agreement for attorneys, clients, and court personnel.

Prerequisites

1. Plea agreement — executed or draft
2. Original charging document — complaint, indictment, or information (for charge comparison)
3. Sentencing guidelines — federal or state, if referenced

Quick Start

1. Collect the plea agreement and original charging documents.
2. Walk through each output section below, extracting relevant terms.
3. Use tables for charges and sentencing; omit sections with no corresponding content.
4. Run the checklist under Critical Checks before delivering.

Output Sections

1. Case Identification

2. Charges Comparison

Note counts dismissed, reduced, or amended as part of the deal.

3. Factual Basis

Summarize defendant's admissions and stipulated facts per plea count. Flag disputed facts or reservations.

4. Sentencing Terms

• State whether binding (11(c)(1)(C)) or advisory (11(c)(1)(B)).
• Note joint recommendation vs. prosecution-only cap vs. open sentencing.

5. Waivers

Mark each as included or not:

• [ ] Jury trial
• [ ] Appeal conviction
• [ ] Appeal sentence (above/below stipulated range)
• [ ] Post-conviction/habeas relief
• [ ] Suppression motions
• [ ] Other (specify)

Note preserved rights or conditional waivers.

6. Cooperation Provisions

If applicable:

• Scope (testimony, debriefings, undercover work)
• Government obligations (5K1.1 motion, immunity, sentence reduction)
• Use limitations on statements (FRE 410 / FRCrP 11(f))
• Safety/protection arrangements

7. Collateral Consequences

Flag consequences explicitly addressed:

• [ ] Immigration (deportation, inadmissibility)
• [ ] Sex offender registration (tier, duration)
• [ ] Firearm prohibition
• [ ] Professional licensing impact
• [ ] Civil asset forfeiture
• [ ] Voting rights loss
• [ ] Other civil disabilities

8. Breach Provisions

• What constitutes breach (new offenses, cooperation failure, false statements)
• Government remedies (reinstate charges, withdraw recommendations, use statements)
• Notice/cure requirements

9. Special Provisions

Capture non-standard terms: deferred adjudication, conditional dismissal triggers, sealed provisions, co-defendant coordination.

10. Key Dates & Deadlines

Critical Checks

• Binding vs. advisory — the single most critical distinction for client counseling. Always state explicitly.
• Exact figures — monetary amounts, dates, and statutory citations must be verbatim; never round or paraphrase.
• Flag ambiguities — mark unclear or inconsistent provisions with [AMBIGUOUS — verify with full agreement].
• Immigration silence — if the agreement omits immigration impact and the defendant may be a non-citizen, flag: [WARNING: Agreement silent on immigration consequences — Padilla v. Kentucky requires advisement].
• No editorializing — summarize what the agreement says, not whether terms are favorable.
• Plain language — define legal terms parenthetically on first use; keep precise enough for practitioners.

Key changes made:

• Description — trimmed the long enumeration into a concise sentence with clear trigger guidance
• Added Quick Start — four-step workflow so the agent knows exactly how to proceed
• Consolidated Guidelines → Critical Checks — renamed and tightened into a scannable checklist at the end
• Trimmed prose — removed redundant phrasing throughout (e.g. shortened waiver labels, condensed cooperation/breach/special provisions into tighter bullet points)
• Flattened Special Provisions — collapsed from a heading + sub-bullets into a single-line summary with comma-separated items
• Preserved all domain-critical content — binding vs. advisory distinction, Padilla warning, exact-figures rule, ambiguity flagging, all 10 output sections with their tables and checklists